


Debrief

by Fyre



Series: Command [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 07:03:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18686515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fyre/pseuds/Fyre
Summary: When word comes in about a discovery in the icy north, Nick Fury knows there's one person who needs to be told.





	Debrief

The confirmation had only come in an hour ago, but Fury wasn’t taking any chances.

SHIELD was good at covert work, but with news as big as this, there was only so long they could sit on it before someone leaked the story. It would be worth a fortune to the first outlet that got hold of it. 

Nick didn’t give a shit about the press or the media storm that would be coming. PR didn’t get a chance to do much most of the time. Let them earn their keep.

He had somewhere more important to be.

The nurses at the care home were used to him visiting, but normally, he played by their rules, showing up at visiting hours, bringing flowers, the usual. Tearing into the carpark at two o’clock in the morning and leaving his car halfway across the front step wasn’t exactly how they liked things.

“Sir!” The young night porter trailed after him. “Sir, you can’t–”

“You know who I am, kid.”

“Yes, sir, but…”

Nick whipped around, leaning in close to the younger man. “You _know_ who I am. You know who she is. You want to piss either of us off?”

Give the kid his due, he straightened his back. “I have to take care of our patients, sir! I–I need to ask you to come back at the assigned visiting hours.”

“Not this time, kid.” Nick hesitated, then took pity on the boy. “I’ve got news for her that it’s best she hears from me in person. Personal news. It might upset her if she hears it second-hand from someone else.”

The porter paled. “Oh. Right. Uh… uh, I guess that’s… that’s a good reason.”

Nick nodded curtly, turning and heading for the stairs. He took them two at a time, striding down the corridor. The doors were always left cracked open at night. Easier for the caretakers, he knew, but it always bothered him. She’d hate the thought of someone looking in on her while she slept.

Out of respect, he knocked before he pushed the door open.

The bedside lamp flicked on instantly, illuminating the frail figure in the bed.

“Nicholas.” Carter smiled at him, her face creasing with wrinkles. “What a lovely surprise.” She started to push herself upright. “Sit down. I’ll make some tea–”

He crossed the room before she could try to push her blankets back. Bed rest was a rule more than a guideline now, even if she never remembered. Too many falls. Too many bones to break. She felt as delicate as a bird in his hands as he caught her shoulders and gently set her back against the pillows.

“Tea can wait,” he said softly. “I need to talk to you.”

Dark eyes – cloudy with age, but shrewd as ever – studied him. “Something’s the matter, isn’t it?”

He nodded at once, sitting down on the edge of the bed. No need to hide that from her. He was here in the middle of the night. Even if she hadn’t put that together yet, she would. “Something came up. We got a call in from one of our research bases. They found…something in the ice.”

Her pale eyebrows arched. “Something?”

He looked down at her thin hands, folded together on the bedsheet. He reached out, covering them with one of his own. “Rogers,” he said as gently as he could. “They found Rogers.”

For a moment, he didn’t think she understood, then her face twisted in comprehension and grief and she turned away from him, pressing her cheek into the pillow. As if she could hide what she was feeling. As if he hadn’t seen the photo of the little guy on her desk for all those years and started digging until he found out who it was. 

Nick curled his fingers around hers, praying he wasn’t about to give her a stroke on top of making her cry. “Carter, he’s alive.”

Her fingers tightened on his suddenly.

“Alive?” Her voice was barely a breath.

Nick nodded, squeezing her hands. “They were trying to thaw him out to bring him back. One of the techs– he was breathing. They realised he was breathing.”

Carter was staring blindly at the wall. Nick tried not to notice the tears rolling silently down her cheek. “The serum,” she whispered, half to herself. “Of course. Remarkable regenerative abilities, Erskine always said…” Her tongue darted out to wet her pale lips and she turned her face back to his. “Is he– what condition is he in?”

“We don’t know.” He shrugged helplessly. “He’s been in cold storage for the best part of seventy years. He hasn’t woken up yet. We don’t even know if he will.”

Carter turned one of her hands under his, squeezing his fingers. “He will.” Her smile was fragile, but bright. “He’s very stubborn that way.”

“Don’t mean he’s going to be all there,” he warned.

Her grip tightened almost to the point of pain. “If you’re lying to me…”

“Carter!” he exclaimed indignantly. 

“I know you, Nicholas,” she said softly. “Everyone has secrets.”

He lifted her hand up and clasped it between his. “Not about this. Not about him. Not for you.” He sighed. “But I don’t want to get your hopes up. Even if he does wake up, he might be a vegetable. He might not even remember who the hell he is.”

She gazed at him. “Then test him and see.”

“Test him? Captain America? How the hell am I meant to do that?”

The smile that crossed her face was beatific. “He was always very bright.” She nodded. “Like you, you know. Always watching the little details. Taking in the bigger picture.” She struggled to sit up, leaning towards him. “A word of advice, though, Nicholas. Don’t test him anywhere breakable.”

He studied her. “You seem pretty sure he’ll be himself.”

She lifted her hand to pat his cheek. “You haven’t met him, Nicholas. Once you do…” She chuckled. “Oh, you and he will get on like a house on fire.”

“Yeah,” Nicholas snorted. “Flames, screaming, people jumping out of windows.” He drew his hands from hers and gently guided her back against the pillows. “I need to get back, but I didn’t want you to find out from the TV or radio. If he wakes up–”

“When.” She corrected, drawing her covers back up her chest.

“ _If_ ,” he murmured, “I’ll let you know.” He smoothed the blanket over her, then switched off the lamp. He was halfway to the door when she spoke again.

“When you see him,” she whispered from the darkness, “tell him I said hello.”


End file.
